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Izanagi and Izanami, a MythSource painting
Japanese

Izanagi and Izanami

01Identity

Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese tradition

Onogoro Island formed from drops that fell from a jewelled spear. Izanagi and Izanami descended there and raised a stone pillar. They were the first divine couple in Japanese Shinto mythology. They were also siblings and consorts. They planned a courtship ritual around the pillar, then married after Izanagi spoke first. Their union created islands of the Japanese archipelago and produced important deities. Izanami gave birth to the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon god Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, and the storm god Susanoo-no-Mikoto. She died while giving birth to Kagutsuchi, the fire god. Izanagi entered the underworld to retrieve her, but failed after seeing her decayed body. He escaped and purified himself. The sun, moon, and storm deities emerged during or after his cleansing. The pair therefore appeared in stories about creation, divine birth, death, the underworld, and ritual purification.

  • They were sibling consorts and creator gods. (Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising Sun)
  • Izanami represented the passive female principle, while Izanagi represented the active male principle. (The Oxford Companion to World Mythology)
Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who are Izanagi and Izanami?

    Izanagi and Izanami are Japanese figures.
    Source

    Source

    • Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising Sun
    • Dictionary of Mythology
02The names

The names Izanagi and Izanami answer to

Izanagi

Shinto primaeval father-god

SourceDictionary of Mythology

Izanami

female creator deity

SourceUncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising Sun

03The myths

The myths of Izanagi and Izanami

2 myths, with sources recorded for each.

The Creation of the Islands

At the beginning of the mythic age, Heaven and Earth had separated. The Earth remained chaotic and drifted on the water like floating oil. Izanagi and Izanami appeared among the creator deities. The gods looked down on the unsettled waters and gave the pair the Amenonuhoko, a jewelled heavenly spear.

Izanagi and Izanami stood on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and lowered the spear into the sea. They stirred the waters and then lifted it. Brine and other liquid fell from its tip and gathered into a small island. They called the island Onogoro, or Spontaneously Conceived Island.

The pair descended to Onogoro. They built a land there and raised a large pillar as its central support. They then decided to marry. For their courtship, they walked in opposite directions around the pillar. When they met, Izanami spoke first and praised the young man she had encountered. Izanagi objected that the man should have spoken first. Their first union failed. Hiruko was placed in a reed boat and set afloat.

Izanagi and Izanami repeated the marriage ceremony. This time, Izanagi spoke first, and the union succeeded. Their union produced islands of the Japanese archipelago. These included Awaji, Shikoku, the Oki Islands, Kyushu, Iki, Tsushima, Sado, and Honshu. Another account named Awagi among the islands and said that the pair created the remaining islands of Japan.

The island-making began with the stirring of the primordial sea. It continued when the pair corrected the order of their marriage ceremony and successfully generated the land.

The Creation of the Islands, a MythSource painting of the scene

6 sources· checked 2026-09-02

  1. 1Creation Myths of the World: Parts I-IIT1
  2. 2Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising SunT1
  3. 3Dictionary of MythologyT1
  4. 4The Oxford Companion to World MythologyT1
  5. 5Dictionary of MythologyT1
  6. 6Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising SunT1

The Journey to Yomi

Izanami gave birth to Kagutsuchi, the fire god. The birth burned her so badly that she died. Izanagi grieved deeply. In anger, he struck Kagutsuchi, beheaded him, and cut his body into eight pieces. The pieces became volcanoes, and new gods emerged from them.

Izanagi then went to Yomi, the land of the dead, to find Izanami. He arrived too late. Izanami had already eaten food prepared in Yomi, so she could not leave. She told Izanagi not to look at her. He waited, then lit a torch because he wanted to see her again.

The light showed Izanami's changed body. She had become a decaying corpse. Izanagi felt horror when he saw her. Izanami felt shame and anger because he had disobeyed her and exposed her condition. She pursued him as he fled from Yomi. Other beings from the underworld also chased him.

Izanagi reached the entrance to the land of the dead and escaped. He blocked the entrance with a large rock. Some accounts said that Izanami's pursuit reached the entrance. Others said that she sent thunder gods after him, but Izanagi distracted them and continued his flight.

After leaving Yomi, Izanagi suffered bad luck because he had visited the land of the dead. He performed cleansing rituals with sacred water to remove the underworld's impurities. Another account placed the creation of the sun, moon, and storm gods during these cleansing rituals.

The Journey to Yomi, a MythSource painting of the scene

6 sources· checked 2026-09-02

  1. 1Creation Myths of the World: Parts I-IIT1
  2. 2Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising SunT1
  3. 3Essential Visual History of World MythologyT1
  4. 4Essential Visual History of World MythologyT1
  5. 5Dictionary of MythologyT1
  6. 6Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising SunT1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Izanagi and Izanami, each on that figure’s page.

04Different accounts

Different accounts

›The receipts differed on the divine ancestry and order of creation. One account said Heaven formed several deities before Izanami and Izanagi appeared. Another placed them after several pairs of male and female gods. A third gave more than one account of their descent.

    The accounts that differ: Creation Myths of the World: Parts I-II, Part Was Earth. So Heaven Raised Him-; Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising Sun, Chapter 2: The Origin Story; Dictionary of Mythology, Eabc8972-576D-4878-8C33-C9Ebd9D6F5A9

    From “The Creation of the Islands”

    ›The receipts described the material from the spear differently. It was called liquid, dripping matter, brine, or drops from the blade, although each account linked it with the formation of Onogoro or other islands.

      The accounts that differ: Creation Myths of the World: Parts I-II, Part Was Earth. So Heaven Raised Him-; Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising Sun, Chapter 2: The Origin Story; Dictionary of Mythology, Eabc8972-576D-4878-8C33-C9Ebd9D6F5A9

      From “The Creation of the Islands”

      ›One receipt described the failed first union, the setting adrift of Hiruko, and the successful repeated ceremony. Another receipt described Izanami speaking first and Izanagi objecting, but its account ended before the result. A further receipt mentioned the marriage and island creation without describing a failed first union.

        The accounts that differ: Creation Myths of the World: Parts I-II, Part Was Earth. So Heaven Raised Him-; The Oxford Companion to World Mythology; Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising Sun, Chapter 2: The Origin Story

        From “The Creation of the Islands”

        ›The accounts differed about who pursued Izanagi. One named the Ugly Females of Yomi. Another named several gods of thunder.

          The accounts that differ: Creation Myths of the World: Parts I-II, Part Ii: The Creation Myths | 157; Uncovering Japanese Mythology: Exploring the Ancient Stories, Legends, and Folktales of the Land of the Rising Sun, Chapter 2: The Origin Story

          From “The Journey to Yomi”

          ›The accounts differed in their details about what followed Izanagi's escape. One mentioned bad luck and later isolation. Others mentioned blocking the entrance with a large rock and performing cleansing rituals.

            The accounts that differ: Creation Myths of the World: Parts I-II, Part Ii: The Creation Myths | 157; Essential Visual History of World Mythology, ; I.; Dictionary of Mythology, Eabc8972-576D-4878-8C33-C9Ebd9D6F5A9

            From “The Journey to Yomi”